https://kindred.claudrod.me Kindred Records Tue, 26 Dec 2023 05:39:27 +0000 https://kindred.claudrod.me en http://kindred.claudrod.me/Winter-into-Spring Tue, 26 Dec 2023 05:39:27 +0000 Kindred Records 450659  Back Winter into Spring <img src="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/b4dc6c358476624ea6d804b10a64d01dc567c3b492eecacf6b3af95065a76980/Winter-Into-Spring---Album-by-George-Winston.jpg" style="width:100%;">George Winston • LP (8 tracks) • 1982 I have this in vinyl (first pressing c/o Windham Hill)Album cover image c/o Spotify, which says ‘Special Edition’ (pls ignore)   My ownership of this George Winston record is completely by happenstance. I looked for a record shop near where I live and found one that mostly sold old records (by that I mean preloved and of the ‘90s and farther back). The moment I stepped into the shop, I knew that to be true—the place was musty and almost each record I pulled out the crates were yellowing on the sides. My fingertips were gray by the end of the visit, and it was a great time to forget my pack of hand wipes! My personal rule in when digging is to get only one I know I like for sure (which means a mental list is ready) and get a random record that falls within a certain price range. I found a good Steely Dan 2-record album in its original pressing, limited edition gold color, but skipped because it was out of my budget. Instead, I settled for a George Winston record in the sale bin (there were 3 others that were almost mindlessly shortlisted, to be fair), because his name sounded familiar (c/o the ‘New Age’ genre) and I was particularly drawn to the album cover with a pretty nondescript scene. I also knew that I needed a quiet album with piano solos, so the random pick felt like a low-risk purchase that would still satisfy a criteria that’s easy to meet. I say I was stunned when I first listened to the record! As someone who also had a piano-class-after-school phase, I have a general (aka non-technical) idea of how it feels to play a certain way. Winter into Spring opens…minimally, with ‘January Stars’. With just a hand playing a few keys for a few bars, sounding stark and cool (cold?) against silence, the picture of winter is clear. For someone who’s from a tropical country, this shows me how snow fall can actually feel. The album closes with ‘The Venice Dreamer’, with its two parts beautifully building up to a celebratory opening of a new season, which never fails to make me smile. Other noteworthy thingsI googled Winston to see if he had any more recent work I could listen to, and found out that he died this year. His passing in 2023, along with other musicians I admire (Bobby Caldwell, Ryuichi Sakamoto), made my connection to his music even stronger. Probably strengthened my bias towards stronger preference, for sure, but I still would like to think there’s something magical to being drawn to such a seemingly random pick that ended up being so much more than a sale bin find. This album reminded me of ...how it is always a great thing to listen to albums from beginning to end. What a thrill it is to move along the flow of an album when each mindfully-composed song transitions to the next, and tells a solid narrative, whether overtly or not. ...why I love concerts. To gather in a place where music is rendered physically by a soloist or a group and have your presence fully focus on this ceremony of sorts, is just…great (I have no words anymore 😅). And that being able to be there is truly a blessing.  Return to storefront  Back Winter into Spring George Winston • LP (8 tracks) • 1982 I have this in vinyl (first pressing c/o Windham Hill)Album cover image c/o Spotify, which... http://kindred.claudrod.me/PREP Sat, 30 Sep 2023 03:34:54 +0000 Kindred Records 448449  Back PREP <img style="transform: rotate(10deg);" id="loading" class="y" src="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/8aeabf55ad823c9c0bb162be2181cfe537dedb9ee241415f85d48826a6164c33/sticker-exo-obs.png"> <img src="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/2950dde2d6a004a451a6e6f49bcf66788a7c40dba07f31664c487842cd71a5fa/PREP---Album-by-PREP.jpg" style="width:100%;">PREP • LP (10 tracks) • 2020   I clearly remember how I was introduced to PREP. We were only 2 (of 5) people at the dinner table who did not know of the band, and our host friend played ‘Cheapest Flight’, and 2 others at the table started vibing to the song. It took me a while to understand what I was listening to: I was hooked by the smooth melody underscored by synths, which reminded me of stuff I used to listen to when I was younger, but was quite amazed by the vocals that did not seem to match the music. You wouldn’t think that bright sounding vocals would work with the arrangement, but the sound pretty much sets the right mood, as intended. And then I was hooked! I’ve seen PREP twice live (in 2018 and in 2022), and they never disappoint!&nbsp; A PREP show is a chance for me to just dance along with the crowd as we all collectively enjoy the music (and sing along when we remember the lyrics). I always look forward to their session musician-collaborators when they tour. There’s always something new to see, even when they sound exactly like they do in their records (can be a good and a bad thing for some people). Their 2020 offering was timely for me as someone who went through the K-pop blackhole, just like most people stuck at home. A great palate cleanser then, but it was a record I knew I was waiting for, for a while. This album has some of their more upbeat tracks (makes you think if the direction was influenced by the pandemic being just dire times, in need of some livening up).  Return to storefront  Back PREP PREP • LP (10 tracks) • 2020   I clearly remember how I was introduced to PREP. We were only 2 (of 5) people at the dinner table who did... http://kindred.claudrod.me/Delight Sat, 30 Sep 2023 02:00:27 +0000 Kindred Records 448445  Back Delight <img style="transform: rotate(10deg); width:15%;" id="loading" class="y" src="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/e64fb8a6a46422f0023393649b850a1d78f566ec2e2cdce2b2f17fdd2c25bc18/sticker-baek.png"> <img src="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/a8ca1a85fdc926aa8a7704e0cc4fa8a43b1b0c3ae77eb782482887a14598ed7d/Delight---The-2nd-Mini-Album---Album-by-BAEKHYUN.jpg" style="width:100%;">Baekhyun • EP / ‘mini album’ (7 tracks) • 2020 I have this in CD formatAlbum cover image c/o Spotify   Baekhyun is who fully converted me into an EXO stan. I first encountered EXO’s&nbsp;Obsession album randomly on YouTube, with a music producer claiming it to be 2019’s best K-pop album, which was an absolute surprise to me because there was this one group making it big in the West, and we have this guy on the internet saying the best album for the year was from a different group. 😅 The interestingly odd (but also trendy?) stylings of Obsession made me look, but Byun Baekhyun made me stay. There’s more to be said about how I was enamored, but to put it simply: I'm drawn to strong vocals and a clear musical vision. Baekhyun's quirky personality, as seen in livestreams and variety show appearances, is just cherry on top! If you’re drawn to RnB/soul influences in pop, and would like to witness how a K-pop idol builds his personal artist statement, give Delight a listen.&nbsp; Related links  BAEKHYUN 백현 The 2nd Mini Album "Delight" Sounds Room Other noteworthy things His first mini album, City Lights, is evidence of his exploration of a new direction for his solo career, distinct from his previous (ballads-y) OST work. It feels like a deliberate departure, reflecting his desire to mature, a common theme in solo debuts.  Return to storefront  Back Delight Baekhyun • EP / ‘mini album’ (7 tracks) • 2020 I have this in CD formatAlbum cover image c/o Spotify   Baekhyun is who fully... http://kindred.claudrod.me/x-scratch Wed, 22 Jun 2022 15:06:03 +0000 Kindred Records 426387 A few tables, a wall of exposed concrete on one side, a white wall on the opposite end. A large window with lots of sunlight and the smell of freshly brewed coffee (although I rarely drink these days). Not a lot of friends show up (we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic, after all), but just enough to fill the room with the sound of light chatter. I make sure I don’t feel pressure by playing something familiar to everyone (and loved by most), as the first record. -- The not-so-skinnyWelcome, welcome! This is my (aka Claudine’s) fantasy online record shop. Over the pandemic, I’ve found myself looking through catalogs of different record shops, as they started selling online more actively. Found a bit of thrill doing that as it felt like my turntable-less self was doing some digging. In a way, it’s my approach to balance the (potentially) accurate but extremely convenient recommendations given by AI in this day and age. I miss asking people what they like listening to now and what they think I should listen to, and I miss thinking and verbalizing why I enjoy the things I love. Nowadays, we see an overwhelming amount of ‘likes’ shared online, but does anybody talk about their whys anymore? (Also see Robin Sloan’s Fish essay and thoughts on ‘liking’ vs ‘loving’ things on the internet.) I have this interest in cataloging things, as seen in the amount of lists I’ve created over the years, including playlists, movie lists, etc., so this basically sparked the idea of putting together a list of records I love in a more visual form A few tables, a wall of exposed concrete on one side, a white wall on the opposite end. A large window with lots of sunlight and the smell of freshly brewed coffee... http://kindred.claudrod.me/About Wed, 22 Jun 2022 04:18:16 +0000 Kindred Records 426358 <img src="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/bd7aa5436dc9a434ffe774004bc803c0acdbf85e35190920fa2cc2c7bd942447/logo.svg" width="60%"> An ‘about’ page attempt (a truly rough draft) Welcome, welcome! This is my (aka Claudine’s) music journal, masquerading as an online record shop that’s all pretend, probably fulfilling some kind of fantasy I live out in my brain. During the pandemic, I’ve found myself looking through catalogs of different stores online and got excited doing that as it felt like I was doing some actual digging while stuck at home. At some point (partly thanks to getting into K-pop), I got a CD player and carved out a small corner in my studio apartment for lounging and spacing out to music. Recently, a simple turntable was added to the setup. Maybe all this is is just to balance the (potentially) accurate but extremely convenient recommendations churned out by AI. I miss asking people what they like listening to and what they think I should try listening to. And I miss thinking and verbalizing why I enjoy the things I love! Nowadays, we see an overwhelming amount of ‘likes’ shared online, but does anybody talk about why we like what we like anymore? (Also see Robin Sloan’s Fish essay and thoughts on ‘liking’ vs ‘loving’* things on the internet.)*“To love is to return,” said Robin Sloan TL;DR - I've always been a list maker, from playlists to movie lists, and this led me to create a visual catalog of the records I adore and adding notes on the side. This is really just me roleplaying as a record shop owner and putting my curator hat for fun. Enjoy and have fun digging! Related link: Crumbs 🧹 Return to Storefront  Email me  An ‘about’ page attempt (a truly rough draft) Welcome, welcome! This is my (aka Claudine’s) music journal, masquerading as an online record shop that’s... http://kindred.claudrod.me/Kindred-Records Mon, 17 Aug 2015 23:34:03 +0000 Kindred Records 411817 <img width="322" height="73" width_o="322" height_o="73" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/bd7aa5436dc9a434ffe774004bc803c0acdbf85e35190920fa2cc2c7bd942447/logo.svg" data-mid="1202175" border="0" />A fantasy record shop with a random mix of stickers and notes no one asked for.About this project  <img style="transform: rotate(10deg); width:40%;" id="loading" class="z" src="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/0296afe4d2a76c4a2f1b4d7d45730ce92caf3b807dfb4f8091053df8052556a3/soft-opening_sticker.svg"> <img width="640" height="610" width_o="640" height_o="610" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/943c1d058a8f94f09b2f4af5f146ade546cf58ee2f6092e4ca559d1bf7d9a399/Original-Musiquarium---Stevie-Wonder.jpg" data-mid="1338056" border="0" /> <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/f8fdffa99d068bed64d6679e2b9304d0092c5cd851752250787a306c926ded1d/Canyons---Album-by-Young-Gun-Silver-Fox.jpg" data-mid="1306642" border="0" /> <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/e8a218629f4782e6c98a903869d4b682536dcab07ae66760ef2a5ec3fcd277d9/Blood---Lianne-La-Havas.jpg" data-mid="1338053" border="0" /> <img width="1000" height="1000" width_o="1000" height_o="1000" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/02701c875946241ecc63908140462c5cab39e91df48b06b13c70a58484384300/Tatsuro-Yamashita--Spacy.jpg" data-mid="1338051" border="0" /> <img width="661" height="661" width_o="661" height_o="661" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/c6c03909f2ca49b401c337e99482f4a8353da2cd202473a96b24a09523a54b90/Moonrise---DAY6-LP.png" data-mid="1338055" border="0" /> <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/2b2bde7bf213dfd285564c205ed8f3f7fc9521f01072dd6d5001820efb02a79f/Extensions---Album-by-The-Manhattan-Transfer.jpg" data-mid="1338050" border="0" /> <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/0df7b224ab18541c825b4cc60ddf110c73cd9f9b81af157bad181a17378ddda7/In-Rainbows---Album-by-Radiohead.jpg" data-mid="1306647" border="0" /> <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/b992acb4e173f51414a66a04d2894c7c93a8ab14dbb434dd90dff9bd4f73010b/Riot-On-An-Empty-Street---Album-by-Kings-of-Convenience.jpg" data-mid="1306648" border="0" /> <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/dec522b2e6c0de937af58b232417059c352b1d9f8fd4028f41909ebfb5c7ec01/It-s-Better-To-Travel---Swing-Out-Sister.jpg" data-mid="1306649" border="0" /> <img width="640" height="636" width_o="640" height_o="636" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/e120cd2024d86b14a139345bb950caf6980e7c7773a7d19d12fc13fc70957269/Tawk-Tomahawk---Hiatus-Kaiyote.jpg" data-mid="1306641" border="0" /> <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/b9de61253ceda6621a05dd19b5597d5258285e31e45362275f8f2c760227d011/Time-and-Again---The-Anthology-Pt-2---Album-by-Bobby-Caldwell.jpg" data-mid="1306651" border="0" /> <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/237008bfff00e788f672b439cc3c180fe6b6ce385b4e02f28c3e8d921718011b/Raining-to-Hear---Album-by-Iwamura-Ryuta.jpg" data-mid="1306652" border="0" /> <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/2950dde2d6a004a451a6e6f49bcf66788a7c40dba07f31664c487842cd71a5fa/PREP---Album-by-PREP.jpg" data-mid="1306653" border="0" /> <img width="600" height="600" width_o="600" height_o="600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/fc7e6502451867a31ba4817048cc99e857e16be17276c2fdb03d15a4e16b1017/For-You---Tatsuro-Yamashita.jpg" data-mid="1338049" border="0" /> <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/531b419035ad84711787a6d97a12f9d7a1501af2b5771807448c3ffcd0406d66/Tailor---Album-by-The-BLANK-Shop.jpg" data-mid="1306655" border="0" /> <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/17246f9d94908ea5deaa63d3fb3ed9b2dbaa4b09f5b8c8b99131e15b8da3a997/The-Suburbs---Arcade-Fire.jpg" data-mid="1306656" border="0" /> <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/99e230e7a9c542550cae7511e71125700dfb87c73bd09bbd68340653d08e8341/Sports---Album-by-Tokyo-Incidents.jpg" data-mid="1306650" border="0" /> <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/2a6d1325cf946c6174149308fe01e99d25029bf9f9ecd85a46b94f282a7413fc/Room-For-Squares---Album-by-John-Mayer.jpg" data-mid="1306643" border="0" /> <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/0354495f80be5b5660096fb4d553f412f6e5f3aa79da78284f5906e4105a68c8/Dreams---Album-by-The-Whitest-Boy-Alive.jpg" data-mid="1306657" border="0" /> <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/d49bf28a07b9916b4746b9f7c2d3ff3820a962f367f1b5604992a1ce8f47945e/Esperanza---Esperanza-Spalding.jpg" data-mid="1306646" border="0" /> With notes scribbled on the sleeve <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/b4dc6c358476624ea6d804b10a64d01dc567c3b492eecacf6b3af95065a76980/Winter-Into-Spring---Album-by-George-Winston.jpg" data-mid="1338052" border="0" />George Winton’s Winter into Spring (1982) <img width="640" height="640" width_o="640" height_o="640" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/a8ca1a85fdc926aa8a7704e0cc4fa8a43b1b0c3ae77eb782482887a14598ed7d/Delight---The-2nd-Mini-Album---Album-by-BAEKHYUN.jpg" data-mid="1306644" border="0" />Baekhyun’s Delight (2020) Updated 26 Dec 2023 A fantasy record shop with a random mix of stickers and notes no one asked for.About this project  With...